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| From Co Do |
In my first time at Co Do, I was there to try their bun. Upon scanning their menu, I noticed some interesting menu items that were unusual for a typical Vietnamese pho restaurant. I thought that they must be regional cuisine, so I asked the proprietors where they where from in Vietnam. They told me that they were from Hue - a city in the central Vietnam which also happens to be the former dynastic capital of feudal Vietnam. The cuisine from Hue was heavily influenced by the kitchens of the royal courts and is distinct from the cuisines from the North and the South. I had already ordered my bun, so I promised myself to come back soon to try these interesting looking items.
Today I came back and brought a food loving friend. We ordered bahn ram banh it (shrimp paste with rice ball on top of crispy rice cake; banh canh tom cua bot loc (a fish, crab, shimp, tapioca noodle soup; bahn nam (banana leaf wrapped shrimp paste, pork and rice paste) and banh uot (rice flour cakes with shrimp paste).
This meal was all Texture because of what we decided to order -- the dishes were all unusually glutinous. Next time I come here, I will bring a couple more friends so I can contrast these dishes with some grilled items, fresh salad items, and some deep fried items....and perhaps a bowl of bun bo Hue (the most well known Hue dish). There were only two of us and we were committed to giving these dishes a try. Carrying onwards....
The soup had a flavourful and starch-thickend fish broth, yellow and earth with turmeric. The tapioca noodles were quite gelatinous. It had pieces of fresh crab, shrimp, and sliced eel.
The bahn nam was very similar to a Filipino rice tamale. The shrimp and pork paste was subtley spiced and benefited from the nuoc nam - based dipping sauce.
The banh ram banh it was an appetizer sized order that looked almost like a scallop dish. The fried rice cake's texture contrasted nicely with the glutinous rice ball.
The banh uot was a platter full of the rice cakes topped with the dried shrimp paste and Vietnamese ham. It too came with a nuoc nam dipping sauce.
Once again, I would not order a meal with just this set of dishes....this particular meal was purely experimental. I would choose one or two of these dishes and fill out the rest of the order with other items. Co Do also does a great bun and from all accounts a great pho....however, make sure to give the Hue dishes a try if you do decide to pop in.
Co Do
950 Kingsway Vancouver BC
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